(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved glass release button assembly of an automotive tailgate capable of enhancing operational stability and ease of assembly.
(b) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a tailgate equipped with a conventional tailgate glass release button assembly. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional elevation view of the conventional tailgate glass release button assembly and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view cut along the line IIIxe2x80x94III of FIG. 1.
The tailgate glass release button assembly 2 comprises a mounting bay 16 installed in an outer panel 6 of the tailgate 4 so as to be inset into the outer panel, and a release button 12 mounted into the inset mounting bay 16.
The release button 12 has an inner space in which a spring 10 is installed such that one end of the spring 10 contacts the mounting bay 16 and the elastic force of the spring 10 returns the button 12 to it""s outwardly extended position after it is depressed and released. Also, the release button 12 has a pair of pin slots (not shown) formed on two sidewalls facing each other, through which a pin 14 supported by the mounting bay 16 passes, so as to prevent the button 12 from being separated from the mounting bay 16.
The release button 12 has a push rod 24 extended from its open end such that when the release button 12 is depressed, the push rod 24 pushes one end of an opening lever 22. One end of the opening lever 22 is pivotally connected to a link assembly 44 which interacts with the opening lever 22 such that if the push rod 24 pushes up on one end of the opening lever, the other end where the link assembly 44 is connected is pulled down by a lever effect. This causes a latch 46 connected to the other end of the link assembly 44 to be pulled so as to release the glass 8 from the tailgate panel.
However, this conventional tailgate glass release button assembly has a drawback in that the button is unstable and it is difficult to assembly, especially when fastening nuts used to affix it to the tailgate.
The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems of the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tailgate glass release button assembly capable of reducing whole manufacturing costs by avoiding usage of the pin acting as a stopper of the release button and making the assembly process easy by facilitating a snap-in installation of the release button.
To achieve the above object, a tailgate glass release button assembly according to the present invention comprises a button-mounting unit installed into a release button assembly hole formed in an outer panel of a tailgate for providing a socket, a button plugged into the socket of the button-mounting unit, and a spring interposed between the button-mounting unit and the button for returning the button after being depressed, wherein the button-mounting unit comprises more than one hanger formed around an upper portion of the button-mounting unit for preventing the button-mounting unit from being separated before being fastened.